Dechlor...?

[musicmarn1]

Ok just want to get myself re-educated, been lax on my prime use lately, because my husband has been cleaning my tanks for me while im on roadtrips.

He cleans the adults every other day sometimes he forgets to use prime, this is hauled well water so is not got much in it BUT i want to check a few things i think ive let some fuzzy thinking creep in !! :gorgeous::o



* What problems would i be seeing if my discus were struggling with too much chloramine? (we age even our hauled well water so Chlorine is gone)?
* Do i really need Prime at all?
* Since he is only adding it every second day, the benefits of neutralizing ammonia etc are gone after 24 hours is this correct? what about this every second day prime addition (if he WERE using it each time) is problematic?
* He is only dosing about half of what the tank gallon size suggests, even in the fry tanks. I forget where and what i read that suggested this is ok in some water like mine, ive just plain forgotten my many hours research on the subject and need some CLEAN THINKING injected back in my process, thank you

please only reply if you have a lot of knowledge on the subject i have fibromyalgia and do not want to have my thought process confused, im actually going to write these answers down on the white board in my living room ahem i mean fish room !

and no my husband is in no danger, im grateful for his help just want to make sure the fish are not suffering

[kris2341]

Chlorine/Chloramine poisoning will give somewhat similar symptoms to Ammonia poisoning when it comes to fish, among other things, it burns the fish's gills and causes them much distress so they would be gasping at the surface, have burned gills and would essentially not be long for this world at that point

considering the fact that he actually totally forgot about it and added the water is quite surprising. the fact that the fish arent dead within a day means the water probably outgassed the stuff thats in it and that it probably is only chlorine in the water and not chloramine.

there is no problem using prime at every water change and if you do have treated well water, it is best to dose anyways than be sorry, it is not something that is easily overdosed at all.

[Len]

Marnie do you add chloramine to your well water or is this a community well that your unsure of? If it's your own and you don't add anything then I'd skip the prime as it's not needed. To answer your question though if the fish were struggling with too much chloramine I'd expect to see obvious signs of stress like turning black and dying off in numbers.

[musicmarn1]

not had any gasping, dying fish ever after water changes, we do get fish RUBBING themselves after pretty much every water change, our water is a bit bloody hard!

It is aged water and whilst we do HAVE our own well we lost pressure, so at the moment its the hauled community well water we are using, though we do of course still age it for 12 hours every day.


Thank you

[Len]

Sorry Marnie but I'm still not getting it. Can you explain what "Hauled" community well water means? Also do you know for a fact that chloramine is added to the water or are you just being cautious?

[musicmarn1]

ahh sorry Len

Hauled water - i draw water out of the community well (public access well in my part of town) and into the back of my truck, take it home and dump it in the aging barrel.

i do NOT know for a fact chloramine is added, since it is public well water i am assuming so but have not seen my fish hurt by missing prime and wanted to be sure if i should, in fact, be adding a full dose or half dose of prime, or since ive been lucky, no dose?

ill call the water board tomorrow and confirm but its not *city water* im in a very rural area and may not get a response for ages from the board

[Len]

Got it Marnie. Sorry for the confusion. Until you find out for sure, don't try to go without the prime, but if you find out there is no chlorine or chloramine then skip it and save the money and feel better that there isn't extra "stuff" being added unnecessarily :)

[musicmarn1]

will do Len ty so much for helping!

[Len]

Any time Marnie :)

[OC Discus]

Marnie, I have learned one thing about Prime. You can order Safe which is the powder version for a fraction of the cost. I put 1/2 teaspoon in my container then add 50 gallons of water. An $8 jar of safe will last somewhere around 4 or more times as long as a large bottle of prime. It is the same product in powder form. Maybe by cutting the cost so much your husband won't mind adding it.

[musicmarn1]

well that's a great point OC ! cheers :D I think your right !! he can just add it to the aging barrel, im lucky i have not lost discus over it but wonder if there has been any serious gill damage :(:confused:

[Len]

Have you checked to see if there are chlorine/chloramines added? If there aren't it's still a waste of money and effort :) Also you may consider HMA and you won't need it anyway.

[rickztahone]

Marnie, I have learned one thing about Prime. You can order Safe which is the powder version for a fraction of the cost. I put 1/2 teaspoon in my container then add 50 gallons of water. An $8 jar of safe will last somewhere around 4 or more times as long as a large bottle of prime. It is the same product in powder form. Maybe by cutting the cost so much your husband won't mind adding it.

or buy the 1 kilo bottle and and not worry about ever purchasing another bottle ever again, lol. I can't remember how many tanks you have but I know you have a lot of discus, so SAFE seems like an easy choice here. Additionally, adding prime/safe just to be on the safe side is so cheap that it SHOULDN'T be skipped to try to save money. There are other ways to save money in the hobby :). I know your OP wasn't to save money, but I include that for other members that may be reading this and thinking they can do without to save a buck or two.

[musicmarn1]

I havent gotten an answer yet, ugh thanks for reminding me ill call back tomorrow, since it IS drinking water, used by the neighbourhood and we just collect it in our trucks lol i have to presume they use something right?

and yes i ordered a bottle of safe to put it in the aging barrel right before it goes in the tanks (we use the whole thing per change)

I have just counted 39 discus lol i really hope i havent stunted anyone by asking my husband to be in charge of cleaning but everyone looks good to me !

[rickztahone]

That is the important thing Marnie :)